A USCIS processing freeze that began in late 2025 has grown into one of the most consequential immigration developments of 2026. Through a December 2, 2025 policy memorandum and a January 1, 2026 expansion, USCIS placed an adjudication hold on benefit requests for nationals of high-risk countries — a list that grew from 19 to 39 countries following a December 16, 2025 Presidential Proclamation.
The hold is sweeping. According to the policy guidance, it applies to virtually every benefit category, including I-140 immigrant petitions, I-129 nonimmigrant (including H-1B) petitions, I-485 adjustment-of-status applications, I-765 employment authorization renewals, and N-400 naturalization applications. The affected countries are drawn primarily from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and parts of Latin America.
USCIS has also signaled a re-review of previously approved cases — the January memo shifts the focus to the adjudication date, applying re-review to benefit requests approved on or after January 20, 2021, regardless of when the individual entered the United States.
The hold remains in place until a future policy memo lifts it, but the guidance does provide limited exceptions, most notably for benefit requests that serve a U.S. national interest. That national-interest exception may be especially relevant to EB-2 NIW and EB-1A petitioners, whose cases are, by definition, premised on benefit to the United States.
If you are a national of an affected country with a pending I-140, I-485, or work-permit renewal, it is critical to understand whether your case is paused, whether a national-interest exception may apply, and what legal remedies — including a possible mandamus action for unreasonable delay — might be available. Documenting the national importance of your work has never been more important.
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